Dubai-based firm Zamanat has announced its sponsorship of Zamanat Fund CEIC Limited, a DIFC-domiciled tokenized private credit fund with a target size of up to USD 100 million. The fund is designed to target the Gulf Cooperation Council's (GCC) estimated $250 billion SME financing gap, where only 11 percent of small and medium-sized enterprises across the region currently have access to credit.
While SMEs in the GCC are central to economic growth—such as in the UAE, where they generate over half of the GDP and employ the majority of the private-sector workforce—they receive less than 10 percent of total bank lending. The newly announced fund aims to direct capital toward homegrown companies whose financing needs are not fully met through traditional lending channels, supporting national priorities such as Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 and the UAE Centennial 2071.
Regulated Structure and Tokenization on ZIGChain
The fund operates as a DFSA-regulated closed-ended Exempt Fund classified as a Credit Fund. It is managed by Truleum Venture Partners Limited and administered by Apex Group. Fund interests will be issued as ZM1 Investment Tokens on ZIGChain within a regulated, whitelisted environment, providing a blockchain-native ownership and settlement layer for qualifying Professional Clients.
“Strong businesses across the GCC still struggle to access growth capital despite sound fundamentals,” said Umair Tariq, Founder and CEO of Zamanat. “Zamanat sponsored the Fund to create a credible route between those businesses and institutional capital. With a target size of up to USD 100 million and interests issued as Investment Tokens, it is our first live proof point for bringing GCC private credit into a regulated digital structure for Professional Clients.”
Broader Market Ambitions
While the fund itself is not an Islamic Fund and is not marketed as Shariah-compliant, Zamanat's wider corporate platform focuses on developing the global market for Digital Shariah Assets. The company plans a separate pipeline of assets across private credit, receivables, and real estate, combining investment structuring, regulated partner routes, and digital distribution.
Peter Hughes, Founder and CEO of Apex Group, noted that combining institutional structure and digital distribution within a DFSA-regulated framework sets a standard for the market. Participation in the fund is restricted strictly to investors who meet Dubai Financial Services Authority Professional Client eligibility requirements.
